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The Association of Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) has justified the increase in petroleum prices.

Some OMCs started raising the prices of petroleum products at the pumps on Tuesday morning.

Petrol and diesel prices are going for an average of ¢18 and ¢23 per litre, from the previous prices of ¢15 and ¢19 per litre respectively.

Presently, the price of crude oil on the world market is relatively stable, selling at $94 per barrel.

But the price of fuel has gone up by more than 100% since the beginning of the year. Petrol and diesel sold at about ¢7.5 per litre at the beginning of 2022.

This latest increment comes barely 48 hours after President Nana Akufo-Addo announced plans to import cheaper fuel.

In an interview with JoyNews on this development, the CEO of the OMC, Kwaku Agyemang-Duah, explained that the new prices are a reflection of the depreciation of the cedi and prices on the international market.

“There would be an increase in the next pricing window because of the depreciation of the cedi to the dollar… over the period the issues have been piling up so we have to do something to it,” he told JoyNews’ Evans Mensah.